View from the top: A time of transformation

If there is one word that could define what’s happening in business right now, perhaps “transformation” is it. Certainly the term defined as “a thorough or dramatic change in form or appearance” not only sums up what’s happening in the information management industry; CIOs and IT leaders are also transforming their thinking about how they manage information digitally across their enterprises. Both transformations are connected, presenting tremendous opportunity for businesses today.

ECM transformation

The field of enterprise content management (ECM) vendors continues to transform as it becomes clear which companies are investing in innovation, and which seem to be simply hoping that inertia will keep their existing customers from switching to modern platforms. In the latest Gartner Magic Quadrant for ECM, only three clear industry leaders emerged, and Hyland is proud to be among them. Our market position is especially notable in that we have attained it primarily through organic growth and internal product development rather than through acquisitions.

Moving into 2017, prominent analyst firms covering this space are looking to further transform the definition of ECM, which I fully support given that this legacy term no longer encompasses the true transformative nature of the solutions we are delivering to customers. In fact, we now more accurately describe OnBase as an enterprise information platform for managing content, processes and cases. This takes me to my second transformation topic.

Digital transformation

There’s no doubt that digital transformation is a hot topic in business right now. Organizations have been managing information digitally for decades; however, they now realize that simply storing information digitally will not enable the degree of agility, efficiency and effectiveness needed to thrive in an environment of constant change and disruption. And frantically buying a mish-mash of niche cloud applications has the potential to do more harm than good by creating more silos of information.

Digital transformation is more of a mindset shift than any individual technology investment. Some of the most visionary CIOs are consolidating their environments onto a handful of core platforms to manage key areas of their businesses, such as sales interactions, financial transactions and HR information. They are quickly realizing that there is still a tremendous amount of content, processes and casework managed by niche or outdated applications outside of their core platforms. These multiple, disconnected silos of information make it impossible to provide a complete, centralized view of information to their employees and the people they serve. That’s why OnBase, as a single enterprise information platform, is such a key part of the journey toward digital transformation.

Companies embarking on digital transformation journeys are becoming the disruptors of their industries. But the question we must ask is, “Do we want to lead the transformation, or do we want to be disrupted?”

There’s no doubt our industry is experiencing one of its most exciting times. Last year marked Hyland’s 25th anniversary as a company, and we can’t wait to see what transformation the next 25 years will bring!

Bill Priemer is president and chief executive officer of Hyland, creator of OnBase. Bill joined the company in 1997 as vice president of Marketing. He was promoted to Vice President of Sales & Marketing in 2001, named Chief Operating Officer in 2005 and became the company’s CEO in January 2013.

1 Response

Bill, you have always been a magic quadrant player and hyland has been at that leading edge since I first met you in the UK 20 years ago. Transformation has rippled rather than hurtled into businesses over that period, but the vision outlined then is still relevant.
Technology v People?
It’s about the time being ripe, and perhaps now, finally, it is, and disruption and chaos are finally transforming the infrastructure rather than tinkering around the edges with pretty toys.